VOICE ONE:
I’m Sarah Long.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Bob Doughty with the VOA Special English Program, PEOPLEIN AMERICA. Today we tell about some men and women who died duringthe September eleventh terrorist attacks on the United States. Manyof these people died while trying to save the lives of others. Theyare honored as American heroes.
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VOICE ONE:
On Tuesday, September eleventh, terrorists hijacked four largecivilian passenger airplanes in the United States. All four flightswere traveling from the eastern part of the country to the WestCoast.
At fifteen minutes before nine in the morning in New York City,one of the planes crashed into the north building of the World TradeCenter. The airplane tore a huge hole in the building, and theplane’s fuel immediately caused a large fire.
Eighteen minutes later, another plane crashed into the southbuilding of the World Trade Center. The second plane also explodedand caused a huge fire.
Later, both of these buildings,among the tallest in the United States, fell to the ground. Aboutthree-thousand people were killed.
VOICE TWO:
A third hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon at twentyminutes before ten. The Pentagon is the headquarters of the DefenseDepartment, near Washington, D-C.
Minutes later, police in theeastern state of Pennsylvania confirmed that a fourth and finalhijacked airplane traveling toward Washington had crashed. Therewere no survivors.
Experts later said the passengers on this fourth plane foughtwith the terrorists in an effort to regain control of the plane.
Officials believe it is likelythat this plane was being flown to a target in the nation’s capital.The brave actions of the passengers on this flight may have savedthousands of lives.
VOICE ONE:
Among the passengers on flight Ninety-Three wasthirty-two-year-old Todd Beamer. He worked for Oracle computercompany. He was traveling to California for business on Septembereleventh. Normally, Mister Beamer would have left the night before,but he and his wife Lisa had just returned from a week-long trip toItaly. He wanted to spend some extra time with his two youngchildren.
Lisa Beamer told reporters shenever received a telephone call from her husband before his planecrashed on September eleventh. Missus Beamer said she thought thiswas strange, because her husband was known for using his personalphone all the time. Later she found out he did try to reach her, buthis call mistakenly went to a telephone operator instead.
The operator said he sounded brave and calm in his final minutes.She believes that Todd Beamer was one of the passengers who led theeffort to fight the hijackers. His final words were: “Are you guysready? Let’s roll.”
VOICE TWO:
Another fearless passenger on Flight Ninety-Three wasthirty-one-year-old Mark Bingham. In college, he played rugby, aphysically rough sport, for his school team. Friends told reportersthat he even fought with a robber at one time to get a gun out ofthe man’s hands. Mark Bingham called his mother about twenty minutesbefore Flight Ninety-Three crashed. His final words were: “If Idon’t see you again, I love you all. It doesn’t look good.”
Several women on FlightNinety-Three also tried to fight back. One of the crewmembers wasthirty-eight-year-old Sandy Bradshaw. She called her husband, Phil,just minutes before the plane crashed. She said that she and othercrewmembers were boiling hot water to throw on the hijackers. SandyBradshaw reportedly promised her husband that if she lived, shewould leave her job to stay at home with their three children.
VOICE ONE:
There are reports of other passengers on the plane who toldfamily members by telephone that they were prepared to fight toprotect their country. Thirteen days after Flight Ninety-Threecrashed, President Bush invited the families of these braveAmericans to the White House. He and First Lady Laura Bush spenttime with each family member.
President Bush said the hijackers could have been targeting theWhite House. The passengers, he said, may have saved countless morepeople from dying. About one-hundred workers at the White Housethanked the families as they left.
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VOICE TWO:
Hundreds of New York City firefighters and police officers beganrescue efforts immediately after two of the hijacked planes crashedinto the World Trade Center buildings. As people were hurrying downthe stairs to escape the buildings, firefighters and policemen werehurrying up those same stairs to help bring injured victims out.
Among them was John McAvoy (picture at FDNY Online), a firefighterassigned to Ladder Company Three in Manhattan. In his free time, hehelped train young hockey players on Staten Island where he livedwith his wife, Paula. Hockey is a sport played on ice. Missus McAvoytold the New York Times newspaper that although she could never getJohn to dance, he skated beautifully on the ice. John McAvoy wasalso loyal to his work. His brother said that once while running forexercise, John stopped to pull two older people from a burninghouse. He then went back for their cat before continuing with hisrun.
VOICE ONE:
Vernon Cherry (picture at FDNY Online) was a Brooklynfirefighter who sang at wedding ceremonies during his free time.Friends say Mister Cherry had a beautiful voice. He sang everywherehe went — in the firehouse, while walking up the stairs, even infront of strangers. He was also a good cook, said his friends atLadder Company One-Hundred-Eighteen in Brooklyn Heights. VernonCherry worked for the New York City Fire Department for twenty-eightyears.
Detective Claude Richards of the New York City Police Departmentdied as he lived, helping people. He was a bomb expert. Friends saywhen Detective Richards took time off from work, he would travel toBosnia to dig up land mines with a United Nations peacekeepingforce. Claude Richards was a former Army soldier. People he workedwith say he knew how to give commands and keep a project runningsmoothly. He was also a hard worker and very loyal to his job.
These are a few of the aboutthree-hundred-seventy New York firefighters and police officers whogave the own lives on September eleventh to save others.
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VOICE TWO:
Near Washington, more than one-hundred-eighty people died fromthe September eleventh attack at the Pentagon. Most of the victimswere employees of the Defense Department. Sixty-four were on theplane that crashed into the building.
Last week, Pentagon officials honored the heroic actions ofmilitary and civilian people who helped victims during the terroristattack. A total of eighty-five people received awards, such as theNavy and Marine Corps Medal. This is one of the highest awardspresented to American sailors and Marines for heroic actions.
VOICE ONE:
Navy Seaman Cean (pronounced Sean) Whitmarsh was one such personto receive this special award. During the attack on the Pentagon, heused his shirt to stop a man on fire from burning. He then helpedthe man get out of the Pentagon. Seaman Whitmarsh then went backinto the crash area to lead other injured people to safety. He andhis supervisor, John Krauss, saved as many as fifteen people hurt inthe attack on the Pentagon.
Another Pentagon official honoredearlier this month was Navy Commander Hugh Wetherald. On Septembereleventh, he and a group of other survivors repeatedly ran intoburning areas of the Pentagon to rescue victims. During this time,he breathed in large amounts of smoke, which harmed his lungs.
Commander Wetherald runs races in his free time. He had beentraining for the Marine Corps Marathon. This is a twenty-fivekilometer race that takes place each year through the nation’scapital. This year, the path for the race went by the Pentagon crasharea.
Commander Wetherald says it was hard not to look at the damage ashe passed. He says as he went by, he slowed down and thought abouthow far the United States had come since the attacks. He says theexperience was emotional.
VOICE TWO:
Navy Seaman Cean Whitmarsh and Commander Hugh Wetherald werelucky enough to survive the September eleventh terrorist attacks onthe United States. However, many other individuals died while tryingto rescue others. Many of their names are not well known. Yet theselfless bravery of these heroes will not be forgotten.
((MUSIC: “Amazing Grace,” bagpipe instrumentals))
VOICE ONE:
This Special English Program was written by Jill Moss anddirected by Caty Weaver with audio assistance by Dwayne Collins. I’mSarah Long.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for another PeopleIn America Program on the VOICE OF AMERICA.